Myths about Home Selling and Realities

There are a lot of assumptions you might make when setting out to sell your house, not to mention advice people have for you that may or may not be useful. Before you start showing your home, keep in mind that not all of that conventional wisdom is true. Here are a few common beliefs that may not always be accurate:

Myth: You need kitchen and bathroom remodels: You may think you need major renovations to sell your house. While a nice kitchen and bathroom can sometimes help to catch a buyer’s interest, you’re not likely to get much return when you make big investments. Smaller changes, like new appliances or cabinet hardware, tend to be a bigger help. Comparing your house to others on the market will help you make decisions on what’s best to dress up your house.

Myth: You don’t need granite and stainless steel: These kitchen finishes aren’t necessarily out of fashion, and will still appeal to a lot of buyers. Try not to worry about style here as much as quality. Think about what has broad appeal and will seem timeless rather than trendy.

Myth: You don’t need staging beyond basic cleaning: In many local markets, there’s now very real pressure to not only make sure your house is clean and well organised, but also to make sure it’s shown off to its full advantage. Even if you don’t hire a professional stager, you’ll want to get a good sense of what their techniques are. When you are competing against similar homes, showing future potential and the best of the house can be the difference in your house being chosen over others. 

Stagers can help to make homes appeal to a broader range of tastes, as well as emphasising the strengths and downplaying the weaknesses of your house. They can show you which furniture to take out and store, so that you have enough to show how a room can be used but not so much that the room looks too small, and can help you take out clutter and personal items. Staging is especially important if you’ve already moved out and the house would otherwise be empty. It’s also important as part of taking listing photographs.

Myth: You don’t need to worry about the outside and curb appeal: The first impression your buyers will get is from the outside, and it does need to be a good one. Some buyers might not even check out the inside if they don’t like your yard. Make sure the lawn and garden look neat and well cared for, and that there’s no clutter in the yard. You might want to replace the house numbers, paint the door and trim even if the house as a whole doesn’t need it, or add some new, more striking flowers in the garden. Read our tips on preparing your curb appeal here 

Myth: Buyers won’t worry about paint colours: While this is often given as an example of a simple cosmetic fix, and it is, many buyers simply aren’t interested in painting and can be turned away from colours that are too taste-specific or that they just don’t like. It’s worth doing it yourself beforehand, and finding some colours that look more neutral without being too boring. Read here to learn more about picking paint colours. 

When you’re selling your house, it’s important to look for yourself at what buyers are asking for and interested in, and to make sure you’re acting on good information.

You can view the house on display in the image above on Homely here